Copyright (c) 2009 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan Recent documents in Ram A Cnaan en-us Sun, 31 May 2009 10:37:10 PDT 3600 http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/21 http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/21 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:28:36 PST In the fields of volunteer research and management, the phenomenon of episodic volunteering is growing in popularity. This study of volunteers at summer festivals in British Columbia, Canada, is the first empirical study of episodic volunteers. We find three distinct groups of such volunteers and define them as Long-term Committed Volunteers (LTV), Habitual Episodic Volunteers (HEV) and Genuine Episodic Volunteers (GEV). We examine the differences between these three groups of volunteers in their commitment to volunteering, their motivations, their interest in tangible rewards and their willingness to donate money. We find some significant differences, expected and unexpected, among the three groups. This leads us to rethink current beliefs about episodic volunteers and to suggest questions for future research as well as ideas for the management of volunteers. Femida Handy http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/20 http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/20 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:28:33 PST Too few studies have assessed the relationship between youth risk behaviors and religiosity using measures which captured the varied extent to which youth are engaged in religion. This study applied three measures of religiosity and risk behaviors. In addition, this study ascertained information about youths' participation in religious activities from a parent or caretaker. Based on a national random sample of 2,004 teens (ages 11-18), this study indicates that youth perceive religion as important, are active in religious worship and activities, and further shows that perceived importance of religion as well as participation in religious activities are associated with decreased risk behaviors. Looking at ten risk behaviors, religiosity variables were consistently associated with reduced risk behaviors in the areas of: smoking, alcohol use, truancy, sexual activity, marijuana use, and depression. In the case of these six risk variables, religiosity variables were significantly associated with reduced risk behaviors when controlling for family background variables and self esteem. The study highlights the importance of further understanding the relationship between religious variables, background variables, self esteem, and youth risk behaviors. Jill W. Sinha http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/19 http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/19 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:28:30 PST Two residential programs for dually diagnosed (severely mentally ill and substance abusing) homeless individuals in Philadelphia were compared in a quasi-experimental field study. Findings indicate that the experimental model, a hybrid psychosocial and drug rehabilitation program, did significantly better in maintaining clients in care and in successful rehabilitation than the comparison model, a modified therapeutic community program. However, the overall rate of success in both programs was quite modest. We found Emile Durkheim's concepts of organic and mechanical solidarity to be useful in comparing the structure of the two programs. Because of the small number of clients treated by these programs and the unique characteristics (predominantly young, black and male) of this urban population, findings are not conclusive but clarify direction for further practice and study. Laura E. Blankertz http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/18 http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/18 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:28:28 PST Although religious congregations in the United States constitute a significant part of the nation's safety net (Cnaan, Boddie, and Weinburg, 1999), questions still remain: are religious congregations in the United States unique in their involvement in social service provision? To answer this question, we need to compare them with congregations in countries similar to the United States. Congregational social and community involvement in the United States is attributed to several factors: the unique separation of state and church, a pluralistic ethnic society, and the market economy of religion in the United States. If these factors explain the impressive involvement of local religious congregations in helping people in need and in enhancing quality of life in the community, then we should expect similar findings regarding congregations in other countries with similar characteristics. Femida Handy http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/17 http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/17 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:28:25 PST The volunteer management literature suggests that the most effective means of recruitment is personal asking. However, agencies that apply this method do not report the expected success in volunteer recruitment. Often they face the volunteer recruitment fallacy: those people assumed to be interested in volunteering do not necessarily volunteer. Based on the literature of shyness or social anxiety and on empirical observations, this article suggests that social anxiety often deters volunteering by new recruits. We hypothesize that people with greater levels of social anxiety will be less likely to volunteer. Furthermore, we hypothesize that people with high social anxiety will prefer to give monetary support to worthy causes rather than volunteer their time, and if they do choose to volunteer, they will do so alongside friends. Our hypotheses are supported based on the findings from a large-scale nonrandom sample in North America. We suggest how to avoid the volunteer recruitment fallacy by creating a personal environment in which high-social-anxiety recruits feel safe and accepted. By removing the fear of being negatively judged by strangers as they enter the agency and creating a more personal approach, new recruits may have a higher probability of becoming long-term and consistent volunteers. Femida Handy http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/16 http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/16 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:28:23 PST This paper documents how one Department of Recreation in a large city underwent a planned change effort which transformed some 200 site managers into active community organizers. Based on the philosophy of a very dynamic new commissioner (a former community organizer), city employees enhanced local civic participation and forged a partnership between the public and private sectors as well as with local residents. The paper presents the guiding philosophy, implementation steps, an assessment of the impact of the change, and a discussion of the potential of such a process which can be adopted nationwide. Felice D. Perlmutter http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/15 http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/15 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:28:21 PST The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 contains a little known section referred to as "Charitable Choice." This section encourages states to involve community and faith-based organizations in providing federally funded welfare services. Most social workers are unfamiliar with this part of the legislation and its far-reaching implications for society as a whole and for the social work profession as it opens the door for mixing religion and publicly supported social services provision. This article reviews how Charitable Choice has shifted the way government engages faith-based organizations in social services delivery. A review of the public discourse and research findings regarding the relevance and implementation of Charitable Choice is also presented. Implications for social work are discussed, and a call for social involvement is made. Ram A. Cnaan http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/14 http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/14 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:28:19 PST In this volume, Professor Hillel Schmid of the Hebrew University describes and analyzes an attempt to establish neighborhood-based mechanisms that will serve as representatives and service coordinators to local residents. The experiment took place in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. Israel is too often given negative press in the media where three monotheistic religions see home and heritage. Yet, it is important to remember that it is also a place where some 600-700,000 people work, live, and consume municipal services. Chapter 5 describes Jerusalem in such a perspective and would be of interest to many readers, even those who are not concerned with community practice and civil society issues. In the early 1990s, the city integrated two groups that served the residents interests: community centers and neighborhood self-management into a joint body called "community council." Ram A. Cnaan http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/13 http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/13 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:28:10 PST The increased reliance on volunteers in all industrialized democracies has been parallelled by growing fiscal crises in most states, widespread criticism of welfare, and increased demand for social services. While volunteer work is presumed to be an alternative to public services, its feasibility is not yet clear. We suggest that a cross-national comparison of two significantly different countries would provide more information about volunteerism as a partial substitute for public services. We compared the United States where volunteerism is a widespread tradition and Italy where there has been a "rediscovery" of volunteerism since the 1980s. Differences between the two countries in the practice of volunteerism are examined from several perspectives. They include the relationships between volunteers and the statutory sector, the professionalization of volunteer activity, the role of citizen participation in a capitalistic society, and the Lockean principle of limited government. Finally, we conclude that while there are many differences in welfare provision between the United States and Italy, they do have a common element: increased reliance on volunteers for every aspect of day-to-day life; however, this reliance is mostly ideologically-based and may prove unfounded and costly. Ugo Ascoli http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/12 http://works.bepress.com/ram_cnaan/12 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:28:08 PST Volunteers are difficult to monitor because they are not liable to serious sanctions. We propose that we cannot learn about volunteer work from existing knowledge of paid employees. We then review the literature regarding volunteer commitment and performance. Based on a sample of 510 consistent volunteers in human service organizations, we assess three sets of variables (demographic, personality, and situational) to determine their significance in explaining variability in volunteer commitment and performance. The findings suggest that careful screening and use of symbolic rewards are significant in explaining variation in volunteer satisfaction, hours volunteered per month (commitment), and length of service (tenure). Ram A. Cnaan